The Greek National Holiday

On 25th March, Greek people celebrate their national holiday. It commemorates the beginning of our War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution, against the Ottoman Empire in 1821. It was a long and bloody struggle and it lasted till 1829. Finally, in 1832, Greece or Hellas became an independent state, the first nation among the peoples of the Ottoman Empire.

Due to Greece's classical heritage, there was tremendous sympathy for the Greek cause throughout Europe. Many wealthy Americans and Western European aristocrats took up arms to join the Greek revolutionaries. Many more also financed the revolution. Painters and poets, among them Delacroix and Byron, were inspired by the battles and the Greek bloodshed and depicted the Greeks and the Turks fighting. This movement is called "Philehellenism".

However, there were revolts before 1821. One important figure of the time before the Greek Revolution started was Rigas Feraios, the most influential of the writers and intellectuals. Deeply influenced by the French Revolution and the Italian Carbonari, he was the first who conceived and organized a national movement aiming at the liberation of all Balkan nations—including the Turks of the region—and the creation of a "Balkan Republic". He published a series of revolutionary articles, but eventually he was arrested by Austrian officials in Trieste in 1797 and was killed. He is depicted in the 1 cent Greek coin.

Our school celebrated our national holiday on 24th March with songs and a theatrical play about Rigas Feraios. Here is a video with parts of the event:

The Greek team